At the meeting of the European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet discussed the European Union’s role in the Southern Caucasus and opportunities to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with his colleagues. Foreign Minister Paet said that the EU should increase its visibility in the Southern Caucasus even more. “Preserving the position of the EU special representative would make it easier for the EU to fulfil the responsibility it has accepted to help find resolutions to the conflicts there,” he added.

Paet stated that Estonia supports starting free trade agreement negotiations with Georgia and Armenia. “It is in our interests to help Georgia and Armenia so that they can fulfil the prerequisites for starting negotiations,” he said. Paet asserted that the negotiations for concluding visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan should begin in the near future.

While talking about regulating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister Paet noted that both Armenia and Azerbaijan must, with the help of the international community, make efforts to resolve the conflict. “Resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would significantly reduce tensions in the Southern Caucasus and help boost the development of the region,” he added.

When discussing the situation in Georgia, Paet emphasised the importance of the European Union monitoring mission in preventing the development of new tensions. “It is also important to ensure that the mission has access to the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” he added.